


Of faith, trust and pixie dust

by AllumetteRouge (RedRaidingHood)



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Pre-New 52
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-07 23:34:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6829948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedRaidingHood/pseuds/AllumetteRouge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Screwing up was something he was accustomed to, but this time, Bruce had expected him not to. He always needed Tim to do something impossible, as if he didn’t even know his partner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of faith, trust and pixie dust

When the call had come, Tim had not hesitated for one second. The one night they had convinced Bruce to actually stay at home, all hell would break lose. As if Gotham could sense her protector was resting his broken leg behind the giant screens in his cave. 

Sliding behind a pillar, Tim surveyed the mess he had gotten himself into. Gotham’s banks had always been favourite targets of lots of robbers, so Tim did know the layout of each and every one of them - only this didn’t help him tonight. 

The robbers had split up their hostages into two groups, one remaining in the middle of the great entrance hall where Tim could see them, the other hidden away in the manager’s office. And while he could not see the second group, he was pretty sure they sat around a very similar bomb as the first one. It was a reasonable assumption they would blow up the other group when they got wind of Tim’s presence, and with the robbers being in almost constant contact with each other, it was highly likely they would know if he succeeded in knocking out one of them.

Biting his thumb he whispered only loud enough for Bruce to pick it up through the comms, “No-win situation here, B. I can only save one group of hostages on my own. Any chance of reinforcements?”

“Negative.”

“Great, thanks,” he sighed, sagging against the marble. This was unacceptable, and he knew it. Didn’t like it, but he was still only one man. There was no way he could simultaneously disable both bombs. “B, I can’t be everywhere at once. I can’t save them all,” he hissed. “Who’s the priority?”

The answer was short, as it was predictable. “Both are.”

“Yeah sure, but how? It’s impossible!”

“Make it possible, Red Robin.”

“…”

“Do it.”

 

Tim woke from the pain in his chest, hissing and choking on the air the respirator blew in his lungs. Both, the heart monitor beeping away and the smell of disinfectants told him where he was at once even through the fog that still clouded his mind. He was in the cave’s med bay, resting on fresh linen under Bruce’s judging eyes. 

Tim had fucked up and he knew it. Knew his partner would be giving him that look, the one he had dreaded when he had been Robin. The one telling him he wasn’t good enough. Wasn’t Jason.

“Are the hostages safe?” he croaked, his throat hurting and making him cringe.

Next to him, Bruce was fiddling with the tubes, injecting sedatives in the IV when he noticed Tim’s pain. Not weakness. Never weakness when they were not on the streets. Never weakness when it wasn’t Bruce himself. 

“Yes.”

Tim nodded and laid back against the freshly covered pillows. He already felt the sedatives in his bloodstream. Or maybe it was just his own body betraying him. “What about the robbers?”

“They’re safe, too. Hostages and robbers. Latter are in custody,” Bruce said, his arms crossed over his chest and his voice raspy as ever. His shoulders sagged though and he diverted his eyes, not looking at Tim. “You made that possible.”

A hysteric laugh tore itself from Tim’s chest. He could tell Bruce wasn’t happy with him. It hurt to laugh, but he knew it. Knew he had fucked up bad somehow. His ribs screamed at him when he took another breath, resigning to it all. 

Screwing up was something he was accustomed to, but this time, Bruce had expected him not to. He always needed Tim to do something impossible, as if he didn’t even know his partner.

“I don’t think I can handle expectations,” Tim confessed then, his breathing growing laboured, the respirator taking over for him again. “I don’t wanna let you down.”

Bruce watched him fall back into unconsciousness, unable to find his voice while Tim listened. He watched his son’s chest rise and fall with the help of the machine, recognized the thin white lines marring his skin, marking each and every time Bruce had sent his son into battle one way or the other. He had those injuries, those scars because of him; because Bruce was the one sending Tim into impossible situations again and again and again.

Brushing the sweaty hair from his son’s face, he finally found the answer he was looking for. 

“I am proud of you, Tim. You never let me down.”

**Author's Note:**

> I still kinda want to write that Elementary AU where Tim and Bruce are consulting detectives together. Oh, who am I kidding, I’m just looking for excuses to write them being partners.  
> [Sooo, I might’ve prompted myself again. ](http://whennothingmeanssomething.tumblr.com/post/138956231169/prompts-of-the-week-1) \- Tell me what you think, I'd love to hear from you <3  
> (I do have a [tumblr](http://allumetterouge.tumblr.com) if you prefer that, too.)


End file.
